These Numbers Are Cause for Alarm

The other day, our 6-year-old daughter playfully tried to touch her finger to the end of a Halloween candle flame to see what fire felt like.

My wife and I looked at each other dumbfounded: Had we been so remiss as parents that our child didn’t understand the danger from fire? Then again, just how much had we emphasized fire safety at home to our children?

Let me give you a little test--one I confess I have flunked miserably:

When was the last time you changed the batteries in your smoke detectors? It’s still on my things-to-do list.

When did you last practice your fire evacuation plan? My failure again: What fire evacuation plan? Earthquake response is as far as we got.

Statistics on fire safety are a bit alarming:

* About 93% of fatal fires are at the home.

* The vast majority of fires occur between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. In other words, when we’re asleep.

* Despite tons of public education, smoking is still the No. 1 cause of fatal home fires in America, according to the National Fire Protection Assn.

The No. 1 cause of all home fires, says the association, is faulty cooking equipment, followed by heating equipment.

“There almost isn’t any home fire fatality that could not have been prevented,” said Maria Sabol, fire education specialist for the Orange County Fire Authority.

When my editors asked what subject I wanted for my first column for the new Safety Zone page, home fire safety came immediately to mind. Maybe because after 30 years as a reporter, I’ve covered just about every kind of home fire tragedy you can think of.

The saddest was when two children died from fire because their father was unable to get the metal protection bars off their window, blocking their escape. Such deaths have led some people to take down their crime protection bars. But I’ve also covered more smoking-in-bed fires than I can remember. Shorts in appliance cords. Socket overloads. Shake roof fires. Children left alone with tempting matches.

There was once a fatal fire in my own apartment complex because someone parked a motorcycle in his kitchen. Gas fumes ignited nearby cotton towels.

None of us would ever be that stupid, right? But there are mistakes we do make that could lead to a home fire.

So here’s the one tip I’d like to pass on that perhaps you haven’t given any thought to:

Call your fire department and ask for a fire safety inspection of your home.

Don’t be surprised to get a surprised response. Most fire departments rarely get such calls. Some I talked with said it’s a service that isn’t promoted, because their cities lack the personnel for an onslaught of home safety appointments. One fire inspector said his city usually does it just for the elderly.

But in no city did I hear fire officials say they would not make a house call, if you request one. So don’t let lack of an enthusiastic response deter you.

Robyn Butler, an Anaheim fire inspector, answered this way: “If you want an inspection of your home, we’ll be there. We want to make your home as safe as possible.”

Butler said she’s handled numerous such calls over the years, but usually for new mothers or expectant mothers who want to make sure they’re following needed precautions to protect their babies.

Most fire departments offer the same safety tips. Here’s the Top 10 tips I got from Butler:

1. Install smoke detectors. Despite laws requiring them in new homes, only 73% of the homes in Orange County have smoke detectors. But among those, about one-third are not in operating order. Butler asked me if I’ve ever pushed the test button on my smoke detectors to make sure they work. I had to confess: They have buttons?

2. Plan your escape. Sabol said that when her family did a test drill in the dark, one daughter dropped to her knees and crawled to safety, but the other daughter ran around her room gathering her teddy bear and favorite books. Wrong. Don’t take anything. If there’s fire, get outta there.

3. Keep an eye on smokers.

4. Cook carefully. (Never leave cooking unattended. Again, I’m guilty.)

5. Give space heaters space.

6. Keep matches and lighters safely out of reach of children.

7. If your child is burned, put cool water on the burn for no less than 10 minutes.

8. Be careful of faulty appliances.

9. Crawl low under smoke.

10. Stop, drop and roll if your clothes catch fire.

Sabol added one that she insists is important, but never occurred to me: Sleep with your bedroom door closed.

“If there is a fire, the first smoke that hits you will only put you in a deeper sleep,” she said. “A closed door can keep the fire and smoke from you.”

The Anaheim Fire Department suggests you take your own home tour, starting with your bedroom. Are aerosol hair spray cans anywhere close to a heater? In the kitchen, watch out for floor and furniture polishes, spot removers and oven cleaners. If you aren’t sure whether they’re flammable, read the label.

And in the garage, treat gasoline (like for a lawn mower) with extreme caution. And never, ever use it as a substitute for charcoal.

Of all the tips I’ve read and heard about this week, one that left the deepest impression on me came from Sabol: If you do have a fire, make sure every member of the family knows the designated meeting place after evacuation.

Said Sabol: “It’s so tragic, but we’ve had lots of cases where someone has been killed or injured running back into a house on fire, trying to save a child. Then we learn that the child was already out and safe, but nobody knew it. Always, always have a meeting place.”

My own children may not know that much about fire safety at home. But they’re going to learn, and starting today. How about at your place?